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Mono speaker for bedroom spoken word?

B

bugbear

pfm Member
So - I fancy a woodworking project.

Anyone got any ideas for a nice speaker for bedroom, specifically Radio 4, use?

Good performance, but at very low levels is the key requirment. Small size would also be nice.

I don't see any need for stereo, lying in bed.

There could be project creep into a blue tooth box, I suppose.
 
Sounds like a job for a single driver. No need for deep bass or high treble at low volumes as you wont hear them anyway.
 
What about a mini transmission line? That should exercise your woodworking skills. Just one "full range" speaker, maybe 4" or 5" across, a cheap one should do. You'd have clear midrange, a good bit of treble, more than enough to give speech a bit of sparkle, and a boost to the bass. Absolute overkill if you just want to listen to the radio, but you did say you wanted to build something.
 
Something based around a nice full-range driver probably makes sense; Mark Audio, Fostex, Jordon/Bandor. Cabinet could vary between a modestly-sized ported stand-mount to a full back-loaded horn. Feed it the best couple of Watts you can find and it should be very clear and articulate. I think I’d take that approach over anything with a crossover given the design brief.

That said I’m often amazed by how good and articulate a humble vintage radio can sound on voice. I’ve got a Roberts Revival in the bathroom and a nicer/older R25 on the landing and both sound great on R4 (the only thing they get used for).
 
Main issue with a full range driver imho would be beaming of the HF. But you could look at BMR drivers (good off axis top end) or up/down fire onto a reflector (think duval planet or 360deg parabolic reflector) to help avoid this.
 
Tony L said:
That said I’m often amazed by how good and articulate a humble vintage radio can sound on voice. I’ve got a Roberts Revival in the bathroom and a nicer/older R25 on the landing and both sound great on R4 (the only thing they get used for).
Click to expand...
I use a Roberts R900, is extremely similar to the R25 and the same period.

R900 Radio Roberts Radio Co.Ltd., East Molesey, Surrey, UK, build |Radiomuseum.org

R900 Radio Roberts Radio Co.Ltd., East Molesey, Surrey, UK, build 1985–1990, 20 pictures, 4 schematics, 2 semiconductors, Great Britain , tubes
www.radiomuseum.org www.radiomuseum.org

R25 Radio Roberts Radio Co.Ltd., East Molesey, Surrey, UK, build |Radiomuseum.org

R25 Radio Roberts Radio Co.Ltd., East Molesey, Surrey, UK, build 1986–1990, 17 pictures, Great Britain , schematics, tubes, semiconductors, Broadcast
www.radiomuseum.org www.radiomuseum.org
 
My MiniRig 3 provides remarkable quality of sound for the size. The MiniRig 4 is just being launched and provides the benefit of USB C charging rather than the proprietary plug on the earlier models.

MiniRig speakers designed and built in Bristol!
 
Tony L said:
Something based around a nice full-range driver probably makes sense; Mark Audio, Fostex, Jordon/Bandor. Cabinet could vary between a modestly-sized ported stand-mount to a full back-loaded horn. Feed it the best couple of Watts you can find and it should be very clear and articulate. I think I’d take that approach over anything with a crossover given the design brief.

That said I’m often amazed by how good and articulate a humble vintage radio can sound on voice. I’ve got a Roberts Revival in the bathroom and a nicer/older R25 on the landing and both sound great on R4 (the only thing they get used for).
Click to expand...
Even an operatic soprano, from what I've just read, does not go much above 1000 Hertz. That does not consider the harmonics (or is it enharmonics?) but still....even a midrange driver should do the trick.
 
Tony L said:
That said I’m often amazed by how good and articulate a humble vintage radio can sound on voice. I’ve got a Roberts Revival in the bathroom and a nicer/older R25 on the landing and both sound great on R4 (the only thing they get used for).
Click to expand...
My sixties valve Hacker sounds so good on Radio 4. Its such a sweet alternative to my main system when I'm just not 'feeling it' The Hacker epitomises the 'listen all day' sound for me.
Apologies to the OP for not having a more specific contribution. But it sounds like an exciting project and the single driver vibe is where I would go.
 
I’d second a full range speaker for this, for spoken word it does not need to go low or even too high. Worth having a look the Frugel-phile.com or Planet10 and KJF Audio who all have various full range driver box designs for Fostex, Markaudio and Jordan Drivers. The boxes range from simple golden ratio bass reflex to the more complicated onken style and then on the large back loaded horn designs (probably not appropriate).
 
In light of a recent thread, how about open baffle? With a small driver, you get a very small speaker. And (given where we're headed) no cross over difficulties.

pinkfishmedia.net

open baffle speakers

just saw some youtube videos on pure audio project and their speakers. The prices are very high. Is this justified (i.e parts are expensive ?). The owner mentioned that when you buy them, the components are shipped from various companies!! Would it be hard to build something like their...
pinkfishmedia.net pinkfishmedia.net
 
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